puppy shots

"The breeder told me he had all his shots."


grinninggoldens.com

There are few things clients say to me that aggravate me more. This one isn't the clients fault. Breeders who give out wrong information or are deliberately misleading about needed vaccines drive me nuts. Please don't get me wrong. There are many really good breeders, people who breed because they love a certain type of dog or cat and want to do it right- breeding for temperament, health and longevity.

But there are some people who don't know what they are doing. And they seem to delight in putting really bad information out there like it is gospel truth. For example- "the pup has had all needed shots" at 8 weeks of age. UGH

OK here are the facts. Puppies and kittens get antibodies (infection fighters) from their mother, if the mother was properly vaccinated. These antibodies provide immunity to the puppies. Newborns drink these antibodies in their mother's milk. The antibodies cross over the intestinal lining intact and get to work keeping the babies safe from common diseases. This is good.

This immunity from mom doesn't last forever. And thanks to some amazing scientists over the years, we have developed ways to re-create immunity. Our immune systems have memory. Once you have been exposed to and defeated a disease, the body keeps a blueprint of the successful disease-fighting agents on file. Then, if the same disease is found later, it can be fought off faster, sometimes before we realize we are sick. Vaccines take the place of the initial disease encounter. They are tailored to stimulate the immune system to fight off an invader that doesn't actually make us sick, but then the blueprint is still available to fight off the real thing, should it ever be encountered. Obviously, I'm trying to simplify a bit. I'm sure you can find more complete explanations, I just didn't want to copy an immunology text onto the blog. Maybe just one picture, for kicks and giggles:


wikipedia.com


Back to the puppies and kittens. Mom's immunity in their systems lasts a few weeks. But somewhere between six and fourteen weeks of age, that immunity goes away. The babies are now susceptible to diseases. Nasty, life-threatening things like parvovirus. This is where we step in.

Most puppies and kittens will start getting vaccines about 6-8 weeks of age. They really don't need them any earlier, except perhaps if they were never nursed. This is not a random age choice. This is the early end of the loss of mom's immunity. We will then booster the vaccine (re-vaccinate) every 3-4 weeks until the puppy or kitten is over 14-16 weeks old. There is science to this, I swear. The vaccine provides better immunity that mom's alone in this time frame, but the lingering effects of mom's immunity and the immature state of the immune system don't allow the blueprints to be stored long-term. So we have to remind the system what it needs to be prepared to fight.

One the puppy or kitten is over that 14-16 week mark, the immune system can be expected to store the blueprint longer, generally for about a year for most diseases. So we usually give the last set of vaccines at about 4-5 months of age. Then we can schedule spay or neuter (but that's a discussion for another day).

So there you have it. This is why I go slightly nuts when I am presented with a cute, fuzzy, 10 week old puppy and am told that he had all his shots.

Or picture this scene:

Pitiful puppy on the exam table, about 5 months old, thin, tired, dehydrated because she has spent the last few hours/days vomiting and having severe diarrhea. The parvovirus test is positive for the disease.


greenwichtime.com

Me: "Parvo is a virus that causes life-threatening vomiting and diarrhea. I can't treat the virus. All we can do now is support her system and hope that she can fight the virus off herself. She may die. And the treatment to try to save her life will be expensive."

Owner: "But the breeder said she had all her shots! They gave her her parvo shots!"

Me: "How long have you had her?"

Owner: "Since she was 8 weeks old."

See the reason for my anxiety? This is a preventable disease. Now the person in the above scene will need to find money to pay for treatment that might not work. The owner didn't know. She was making decisions based on the information she was given when she bought the puppy. If the breeder had done the responsible thing, recommended monthly visits to the vet to discuss care and get shots, this could have been completely avoided.

Enjoy your pets!